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We had some really good news this week in our Wednesday paper about the early return of our local Army National Guard unit.

According to unofficial reports, the unit should be back in the states on or before July 27, arriving first at Camp Shelby, Miss. and then at the National Guard Training Center in Smyrna where members of the unit will be dismissed from active duty and allowed to return their respective families.

The unit’s return is several months ahead of schedule due to a troop reduction policy being administered by the U.S. in Iraq.

Guest Column

Abraham Lincoln once wrote, “I care not for a man’s religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.” Those of us with a heart for animals and a conscience feel the same way. We hurt when we see or hear about animal cruelty and see the plight of unwanted animals. Thankfully, there is an organization that can help in Lebanon. New Leash on Life and it’s spay/neuter programs can help address those problems.

Fix For Life is one of Lebanon’s best kept secrets. This low-cost spay/neuter clinic offers the best deal in town. Spays and neuters run anywhere from $30 to $50 and vaccinations are $10 each. Not only is this clinic low-cost, but they offer the same great quality that full service Vet Clinics provide. The staff is genuinely caring and deeply committed to helping families and saving lives of the animals through prevention.

Letters to the Editor

You wonder what to wear as you do not want to look like some bum knocking on doors.

Still it is hot outside, 95 degrees and high humidity so a suit and tie is out of the question. It would be sweat stained in just a matter of minutes so you put on one of your better tee shirts and some slacks and off you go.

First you stop at the local market and purchase one of the real large bottles of bottled water. You look to see if you have enough election cards, door hangers, and signs and then you pick yourself a street.

I have to agree with Mr. Woode Hawkins (letter in July 7th addition) regarding his distaste for election yard signs. It appears our elections have been somewhat reduced to “may the candidate with the most signs, win!” Ugh.

I understand that the 1st Amendment allows for this freedom of expression when it comes to signs in a citizen’s yard. But at what point does it make sense for so many signs to garner so few voters that actually turn out.

General News

The former treasurer of a parent-teacher organization at a Mt. Juliet elementary school has been indicted on theft and forgery charges following an investigation by the Comptroller’s Division of Municipal Audit.

Robin Hall, former treasurer of W.A. Wright Elementary School Parents Are Leaders in our Schools (PALS), was indicted by the Wilson County Grand Jury on one count of theft over $1,000 and one count of forgery after auditors turned information over to the local district attorney general’s office.

The auditors’ report, which was released today, noted that Hall had admitted to issuing a $4,200 check from the PALS account to cover her personal mortgage expenses. The report also noted that Hall made false and misleading entries into the organization’s records in an attempt to conceal what she had done. Hall has since repaid the money to PALS.

Bel Air West, a development located at the southwest corner of Beckwith Road and Interstate 40, is about to begin its first development with a local healthcare facility.

Plans for the development of a new 25,000 square foot, two-story medical office building, anchored by Summit Medical Center are underway at the location which will be known as Bel Air West.

Bel Air West Medical is expected to be completed by the end of 2011, said the building’s owner and Nashville-based developer of medical properties Phil Pace, founding partner and principal of Healthcare Development Associates. The building will be partially leased by Summit but will also have medical office space available for physician offices and other professionals.

The weekend weather forecast calls for cooler temperatures and good chances for rain, or at least better chances for rain than we have experienced in the past several days.

According to the National Weather Service, Wilson County can expect high temperatures in the mid to upper 80s for the weekend and rain chances as high as 60 percent on Friday and 50 percent on Friday night.